Forced by dissidence, Gogoi to meet Sonia today

Battling the latest and strongest bout of dissidence in his 12-year reign, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi is likely to meet Congress president on Friday, according to sources in the party.

"I am not hungry for chief minister's post. The conspiracy is not new for me. Some leaders have been conspiring against me for a long time. I don't care about dissidence," Gogoi said on Thursday, dismissing reports of a revolt by 25 Congress MLAs.

Gogoi's supporters, meanwhile, launched a signature campaign among Congress MLAs to assert his position as the leader of the Congress legislature party.

"We have 47 signatures. It will increase because some MLAs are not in Guwahati," said Bhupen Bora, parliamentary secretary (home).

The Gogoi camp claimed a majority of the 79 Congress MLAs supported his leadership and slammed the rebels who held a closed-door meeting in the city on Wednesday.